Rüthen

Rüthen
Aerial photograph of Rüthen
Coat of arms
Rüthen
Location of Rüthen within Soest district
Coordinates: 51°29′36″N 8°29′0″E / 51.49333°N 8.48333°ECoordinates: 51°29′36″N 8°29′0″E / 51.49333°N 8.48333°E
Country	Germany
State	North Rhine-Westphalia
Admin. region	Arnsberg
District	Soest
Government
• Mayor	Peter Weiken
Area
• Total	158.09 km^2 (61.04 sq mi)
Population (2015-12-31)[1]
• Total	11,095
• Density	70/km^2 (180/sq mi)
Time zone	CET/CEST (UTC+1/+2)
Postal codes	59602
Dialling codes	02952
Vehicle registration	SO
Website	www.ruethen.de

Rüthen is a town in the district of Soest, in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany.

Geography

Rüthen is situated at the northeastern border of the natural preserve Arnsberger Wald between the Haarstrang and the valley of the river Möhne, approx. 20 km south of Lippstadt and 35 kilometres (22 mi) south-west of Paderborn. The highest point is the Wehberg with a height of 528.9 metres (1,735 ft), the lowest point the valley of the river Pöppelsche at 130 metres (430 ft). With an area of more than 310 square kilometres (120 sq mi) it is the largest town within the district of Soest.

Neighbouring municipalities

Anröchte Bestwig Brilon Büren Erwitte

Geseke Lippstadt Olsberg Warstein

Division of the town

Today Rüthen is the commune largest in area in the district of Soest with an area of 158 square kilometres (61 sq mi). After the local government reforms of 1975 Rüthen consists of the following 15 districts:

• Rüthen (5,360 inhabitants)
• Altenrüthen (550 inhabitants)
• Drewer (780 inhabitants)
• Hemmern (170 inhabitants)
• Hoinkhausen(170 inhabitants)
• Kallenhardt(1,810 inhabitants)
• Kellinghausen (90 inhabitants)
• Kneblinghausen (310 inhabitants)
• Langenstraße-Heddinghausen (460 inhabitants)
• Meiste (410 inhabitants)
• Menzel (426 inhabitants)
• Nettelstädt (111 inhabitants)
• Oestereiden (870 inhabitants)
• Weickede (25 inhabitants)
• Westereiden (530 inhabitants)

International relations

Rüthen is twinned with:

• Dereham (United Kingdom) – since 1983
• Egeln (Saxony-Anhalt, Germany) – since 1991

History

Schloss Körtlinghausen near Rüthen

The city of Rüthen was first mentioned in a document of the Kloster Grafschaft (abbey earldom) in 1072. The area around Rüthen already belonged to the Erzbistum Köln(archbishopric Cologne) in the High Middle Ages. On 29 September 1200 Rüthen was given town law by the sovereign, the archbishop of Cologne Adolf I. von Altena. Starting in 1375 Rüthen belonged to the Hanse, an economic alliance of trading cities and their guilds that dominated trade along the coast of Northern Europe in the later Middle Ages. The merchants of the city had far reaching business connections and because of that were able to ensure wealth. In the following centuries, however, the importance of Rüthen decreased massively.

Like many other cities in the duchy of Westfalen, Rüthen held witch trials. From 1573 to 1660, 104 people were tried as witches and wizards, at least 79 being sentenced to death. Freunnd Happen, who had been accused of being a sorcerer, was discharged after two months of torture on 23 September 1660.

Population development

Year/Date Population 1819 1.739 1822 1.799 1825 1.823 1828 1.951 1831 1.899 1834 1.860 1837 1.863 1840 1.938 1843 2.040 1846 2.026 1849 2.006 1852 1.941 1855 1.896 1858 1.830 1861 1.899

Date Population 1864 1.827 1867 1.794 1871 1.700 1875 1.652 1880 1.783 1885 1.723 1890 1.859 1895 2.018 1900 2.072 1905 2.218 1910 2.295 17 May 1939 2.622 13 September 1950 3.541 6 June 1961 4.160 27 May 1970 5.177

Date Population 30 June 1985 10.925 31 December 2000 11.500 31 December 2005 11.143 31 December 2006 11.019 31 December 2007 10.894

Signs

Buildings

• Catholic Church St. Nikolaus. The church was built in the 13th century after a fire in the city. Its tower received its current top in 1712.
• Catholic Church St. Johannes der Täufer. The other Catholic Church in Rüthen was built 1871–1874 with an older tower from 1737. In this tower there is a madonna figure generally considered the oldest piece of art of Rüthen.
• Former Abbey of the order of capuchins. What used to be an abbey now houses 13 apartments. The historic garden has been reconstructed.
• Former Abbey of the order of ursulines The 1749-built abbey was built exactly where 10 years earlier an abbey of another order burned down. Today it houses a bank.
• The old cityhall is a 1726- to 1730-built complex noticeable for its façade and big, curved flight of stairs.
• Of the medieval town fortifications, aside big parts of the city wall, only the Hachtor and the Hexenturm (witches' tower) still exist. The Hachtor is an old town gate that has also been used as a prison.
• The Jewish cemetery from 1625 is the oldest of its kind in Westfalen, located right next to the Hachtor.

In the village of Kallenhardt you can find Schloss Körtlinghausen (1714), a small castle surrounded by water, a catholic church from 1722 and an old cityhall from the 14th or 15th century.

Nature

The Hohler Stein in Kallenhardt is a big cave in which archaeological findings from the Stone Age and Bronze Age were made.

People

• Michael Stappert (around 1585/1590–1663), country priest and critic of witch-hunting
• Jürgen Augustinowitz (born 1964), CDU, Politician, Member of the Bundestag from 1990 until 1998
• Jürgen Haselünne (around 1821–1890), pedagogue
• Anton Kopp (1796–1870), vicar general of Chicago, founder of Westphalia (Michigan)
• Stefan Gödde (born 1975), TV host
• Joachim Winterscheidt (born 1979), Actor and Presenter
• Marcel Höttecke (born 1987), footballer

References

1. "Amtliche Bevölkerungszahlen". Landesbetrieb Information und Technik NRW (in German). 18 July 2016.

External links

• Official website (German)